Customer Reviews

Windows 7 Tweaks: A Comprehensive Guide on Customizing, Increasing Performance, and Securing Microsoft Windows 7

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I do not own this book yet, I have borrowed it from a local library and I am going to be purchasing it as soon as I can. I had also borrowed the Windows 7 Inside Out book and Windows 7 Tweaks is far better hands down. Within the first few pages the author is already suggesting registry tweaks and third party apps from the internet to accomplish certain OS changes. The whole book appears to be like this. While you could likely find the same stuff and tweaks on the web, having it in book form to to browse by chapter is handy. It might also be a bit technical for users who have never opened regedit or done stuff on the command line.

However if you know your way around the Windows registry this is the book for you.

I understand this is a review for a book, but I want to say something about the companion software. I got the book and liked it, so I looked at the companion web site listed in the front of the book and found Tweak7 software. I downloaded the trial and it seemed to work fine so I clicked on purchase and was taken to a site called Stardock to purchase the software. After purchasing the software I was informed I had to download a program called Impulse in order to download the tweak software. I did this to find out Impulse is a front end that pushes you to buy other software. I asked Stardock for a download site and serial for the Tweak software as I didn't want Impulse on my system. As the Tweak software would not run correctly from with in Impulse. The best they would do was refund 75% of my money. Again the book is very informative. I would think twice before ordering the software.
The book is very good and the software works and is easy to use, the problem I had was only with the company selling the software, they are not the people putting out the book.

This book offers a very useful guide to increasing system perfomance and securing Windows 7. Indeed, many of the them apply to Windows Vista as well!

In particular, I find that some tweaks really deliver significant system enhancement. For example: 1) System Boot can be speeded up by defragmenting boot files and disabling unneeded harware devices/services; 2) Computer can log on faster by disabling unneeded startup programs; 3) Windows Explorer runs faster by disabling legacy filename creation; 4) System performance can be enhanced by using a USB memory device for ReadyBoost and defagmenting hard drive using PerfectDisk utility; 5) Internet Explorer can be speeded up by changing default registry values of downloading just two files at a time; web browser security can be boosted by fine-tuning security settings and privacy can be increased by not accepting third-party cookies and do not save encrypted pages to disk.

Very helpful book for experienced Windows users moving to Windows 7. Cuts to the chase on what's new and how to best use Win 7. The section on Win 7 services alone is almost worth the price. Most useful for people who are fairly familiar with older versions of Windows.

So many computer books are just the same old material, re-hashed and recycled, plus manufacturer's briefing material turned into book form. Not this one, it's full of solid and useful information.

Recommended.

I purchased Windows 7 Tweaks at the same time as Windows 7 Inside Out and boy are the two books different.

Windows 7 Inside Out is just a standard Windows 7 manual with no extra tips, tricks or deeper insights.

But this book, Windows 7 Tweaks, is exactly that: a great book for learning more about Windows 7, and getting it to run the way you want it to, and to optimize its performance.

I can recommend this book to anyone (except perhaps those afraid of their computer).

I will be implementing many of its tips and will be keeping it as a reference (and giving Windows 7 Insight Out away).

Note: A week later, I purchased Windows 7 Annoyances by David A. Karp and WOW! It's the best book by far for those of us who want to learn how to get Windows 7 to behave better, work faster, and to resolve the issues and the deficiencies within Windows 7. It has many more tweaks and fixes and suggestions than the other books on Windows 7.

As the title amplifies it; it simplifies everything you need to know right down to the core and bottom line. On the other hand, keep in mind, not everything is necessary to apply in your Windows 7; use what you need - but keep the book; for you might just have the need to go back and "tweak" it up some more if the need be. I recommend this book, plus the Windows Inside/Out and the Powershell 2.0 - all of these three books are powerful sources to have in handy, whether a beginner or advanced professional. Everything is in there, step-by-step.

I was not impressed, but if you want a book to tell you the basics of Windows 7, this is your book. Although, the author doesn't differentiate between Windows 7 Home, Professional, or Ultimate, when explaining how to configure your Windows 7, such as security settings (administration settings) and back up (bit torrent). Windows 7 Home Premium doesn't have Bit Torrent features, and a few other advanced settings and features he talks about. You are not going to be able to do it with the Home Premium version.

So it's not really comprehensive.

This is the continuation of the "Hacking Windows ..." series. Same author, same great reference; but now called "Tweaking" instead of"Hacking".
When I get a new version of the Windows operating system, I turn to the appropriate manual in this series to clean up the junk installed by default. Turn your slow dog into a lean, mean machine following the instructions in this book.

I just got this book (as of this writing) and find it very informative. I've learned a lot from it. And the sample shown here on Amazon.com is a perfect example of what makes this book so great. Check it out (if you haven't already).

A great book for intermediate to power users.

The contents are spotty in quality.
The directions are sometimes unclear or complex.
Some words are not defined.
Some of the links/ buttons he says to click on aren't where he says to look for
them.
I'm not sure if this book is worth buying.